Known wrapping machines for producing "sticks" of sweets comprise a unit for forming a normally elongated group of sweets stacked one on top of another.
European Patent EP 677442, for example, describes a unit for forming a group of flat articles, suitable for use on a sweet packing machine, and whereby a continuous supply conveyor feeds a succession of articles to the input of a group-forming screw device through which a reciprocating extracting device slides to cyclically extract and feed the groups of articles from the screw device to a follow-up wrapping unit.
In the all but infrequent event of an incomplete succession of articles being supplied by the conveyor, the screw device produces an incomplete group which, when fed to the follow-up wrapping unit, must be rejected.
Moreover, throughout the time taken to feed the group of articles to the follow-up wrapping unit, the screw device and supply conveyor must be arrested, thus reducing the mean operating speed of the forming unit.